Cheer Up
by ElectricSnowman
Summary: Napstablook always had a tendency to catastrophize things, but who could blame him? A retelling of when Frisk met Napstablook, but from the ghost's POV.
1. Chapter 1

Napstablook loved his home in Waterfall—don't get him wrong. It held the perfect atmosphere for his snail farm, despite the lack of customers and employees. His neighbor, Undyne, was also somewhat tolerable, despite the fact that she intimidated him quite a bit.

But, by far, Napstablook's favorite place to relax and unwind was the Ruins. Not many monsters lived there, especially since the entrance/exit was nothing but an enormous locked door—nothing that stopped Napstablook, of course.

Although the ghost was very much alone in Waterfall (not by choice), that didn't seem to stop the frequent voices from various monsters passing by every now and then. Napstablook even swore he would hear them outside his house at times, whispering...probably gossiping about him, or even mocking his sensitivity...

...Then again, he always had a tendency to catastrophize things, but who could blame him?

At least, in the Ruins, hardly anyone knew he was even there. The very few monsters that did know simply let him be and didn't bother him, which he respected greatly.

One day in particular, Napstablook was lying on the middle of the floor, unintentionally blocking the path leading to the adjoining room. He saw no point in moving, though, as it didn't seem to bother the other monsters at all. As he stared at the ceiling, lost in thought and drowning himself in the peaceful silence of the Ruins, he almost flinched when hearing soft, delicate footsteps slowly make their way towards him.

Napstablook immediately shut his eyes out of reflex, pretending to be asleep. After all, no one would bother a sleeping ghost, right?

 _"_ _Zzzzzzzz...zzzzzzzzz..."_ Napstablook snored faintly, hoping it would further convince the unknown visitor of his snoozing state. ( _Are they gone yet?)_ He discreetly opened one eye, but promptly shut it when he had inadvertently stared straight at the visitor. _"Uh...zzzzzzz..."_

A quiet, child-like giggle was heard, and Napstablook felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. He blew his cover, didn't he? Giving up and opening his eyes, the ghost peered up and blinked at a young human child innocently peering right back down at him.

"Excuse me," their voice was calm and friendly, "may I please pass through?"

Napstablook trembled for a bit, at the brink of tears. He had just met this person, and already, he assumed they were gravely annoyed at him for blocking their way. He wanted to apologize, but his misery forced him into silence and left him frozen.

The child showed no sign of aggravation, however. Instead, they smiled brightly, waiting patiently for the ghost's response.

 _"_ _Heh..."_ Napstablook tried to smile back, but he could no longer hold back his tears. The human's patience didn't seem to stop him from thinking they hated him.

The child's smile faltered a bit, but returned once more as they decided to cheer up the melancholy ghost. "Do you know what a ghost eats for supper? Spook-etti!" They giggled at their little joke.

Napstablook's tears didn't cease, but the child could see the corners of his mouth slowly twist upward into a smile. _"Heh heh..."_ he quietly chuckled, starting to feel just a little better. He wanted to tell a joke back, but wasn't quite sure what to do until he gazed down at the puddle of tears below him. _"L...Let me try..."_ he whispered as his tears soared above his head to form a top hat. _"I call it 'dapper blook'...do you like it..."_

The child beamed and nodded happily. "I think you look great."

Napstablook was stunned by their genuine kindness. _"Oh gee..."_ He stared at the floor, his mind wandering off yet again. _"I usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around...but today I met somebody nice..."_ He whispered, mostly to himself. Acknowledging that the human was still patiently waiting for him to move, he snapped out of it. _"Oh...I'm rambling again...I'll get out of your way..."_ With that, he quickly phased out of sight, too shy to stick around any longer.

As Napstablook flew into another room to lie down and continue feeling like garbage, he couldn't help but think about how friendly the human was to him. For once, someone didn't judge him for being so sensitive, and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of joy.

 _(Have I actually made a...friend?)_

His happy thoughts were almost immediately shrouded. Why would anyone want to be friends with him? It seemed as if everyone couldn't wait to get away from him...

This human seemed to be different, though. At least, Napstablook _hoped_ they were different, for he hadn't felt happy in a really long time. He shut his eyes and hoped that, somehow, he would be able see them again to thank them properly.


	2. Chapter 2

It was unusually quiet in Waterfall, except for the occasional echoes from the flowers that scattered the marsh. Napstablook decided to take advantage of this rare occurrence and fly around for a bit to clear his mind. Although he took every chance he could to remain cooped up in his house and listen to his tunes, there was always a time where he just wanted to sit by the waterfall and listen to the rushing water without having to encounter random monsters.

After tending to a few snails on his farm, Napstablook soared around his neighborhood, finding himself heading towards the garbage dump when he heard some strange noises. It didn't seem to be coming from any of the echo flowers, but it sounded like someone was...shouting?

" _ **Feeble. Feeble! FEEBLE!"**_

The ghost cautiously made his way to the entrance of the dump, eyes widening when he saw none other than the human child who was so kind to him much earlier. Napstablook was too shocked for words, honestly not expecting to ever see them again.

The human seemed to be occupied with a rather angry-looking dummy that was bouncing around, but no one noticed the ghost as he flew in to say hello. A few tears slipped out from his excitement to see the child again, unintentionally hitting the dummy.

The mad dummy flailed about with a screech. _**"Wh...what the heck is this!? Ergh! Acid rain!?"**_ It shook its head, looking very flustered. _ **"Oh, FORGET IT! I'm outta here!"**_ And just like that, it hopped away.

The child wiped their brow, looking rather relieved. Napstablook, on the other hand, was frozen in utter terror and grief. He had driven the dummy away, and right in the middle of their...well, whatever they were doing.

More tears spilled down his face before he could stop them. _"S...sorry...I interrupted you, didn't I? As soon as I came over, your friend immediately left...oh no...you guys looked like you were having fun..."_ He couldn't stop shaking for fear that the human wouldn't want to be his friend anymore.

The child opened their mouth to object to his lament, but Napstablook was too focused on his misery.

" _Oh no...I just wanted to say hi...oh no..."_ He faded out a bit, wanting so badly to disappear, but he didn't want to feel as if he was ditching the human. Instead, his lip quivered as he floated back a bit, stammering, _"I...I'm going to head home now..."_ He tried to blink back more tears, but had no success. _"Y...you can "come with" if you want...but no pressure...I understand if you're busy...(which you probably are)...it's fine...no worries...just thought I'd offer..."_ He didn't even wait for a response; he disappeared before the human could even speak, too scared to see if they really _were_ upset with him.

Napstablook phased through the door of his home with neverending tears. He thought he had finally made a friend, but now it was all ruined, thanks to him. Again...

 _(Why do I even bother? All I ever do is mess everything up...)_

Napstablook flinched at the soft knock on his door, immediately stiffening. He couldn't even remember the last time _anyone_ ever knocked on his door, let alone actually visit him in the first place. Slowly, he phased through the door and nearly gasped, baffled by the sight of the child standing in front of him with a smile.

"I...didn't get a chance to say 'hi' before," they said with a small wave.

Napstablook was too shocked for words. _"You...really came..."_ He shook himself out of his stupor and stared at the floor in embarrassment. _"Sorry, I...wasn't expecting that."_ He motioned for the human to open the door before he phased inside, and they came in. _"It's not much, but make yourself at home..."_

The child shut the door behind them, looking around in curiosity. This small house hardly had anything in it, only having a TV, a personal computer, a fridge, and a couple CDs lying on the floor.

Napstablook put on some headphones and messed around on his computer for a while, so the child decided to listen to a CD. One of them was labeled "Spooktunes", and they played it, listening and bopping along to it's 'spooky' melody.

" _Oh...a classic spook tune...they don't make them like this anymore..."_ Napstablook silently nodded along with the tune and smiled a little.

"It's catchy." The human giggled, glad to see that the ghost was happy.

After the two had listened to the rest of the CDs, Napstablook awkwardly hovered from side to side, wondering what else he should do so the human wouldn't leave out of boredom. _"Oh...are you hungry..."_ He flew over to the fridge. _"I can get you something to eat..."_ After rummaging through a few things, he pulled out a rather transparent-looking sandwich. _"This is a ghost sandwich...do you want to try it..."_

"Sure." The human politely attempted to take the sandwich, only for their hands to phase right through it as it dropped to the floor.

Napstablook turned a light shade of red. _"Oh...nevermind..."_ He put the sandwich back in the fridge and floated there a while, trying not to cry again.

"It's alright, I wasn't very hungry anyway," the child told him softly.

" _Oh...okay..."_ Napstablook blinked back his tears and faced them slowly. _"After a great meal I like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage..."_ The human gave him an odd look. _"It's a family tradition..."_ He clarified, as if it suddenly made more sense. He stared at the floor again before reluctantly asking, _"Do you want...to join me..."_

The child saw no harm in it and shrugged. "Why not?"

Napstablook looked surprised, seeing how he was sure the human had a journey to be on, yet they still wished to spend time with him. _"Okay...follow my lead..."_ The two lay side by side on the middle of the floor, gazing up at the ceiling. _"Here we go...you'll lie down as long as you don't move. So...only move around when you want to get up, I guess."_

The child nodded in a very relaxed manner, and they both lay in silence for a while, The child wasn't sure if it was their imagination, but the longer they remained on the floor, the whole world seemed to fade from view, leaving them in what seemed like a black void filled with beautiful stars. It all was so soothing...

Around 5 minutes later, the child slowly sat up, the peaceful scenery of space vanishing within an instant. Napstablook flew up as well, looking very content. _"Well, that was nice...thank you..."_ He smiled warmly.

The child smiled back, but looked towards the door as if suddenly remembering what they had to do. "I have to go, now," they spoke up. "But...thank you, too. I had fun."

Napstablook turned red again, almost fading away out of reflex, but stopped himself. _"Uhhh...I'm gonna keep working on that mix CD..."_ He flew over to his computer, but not before facing the human one last time. _"You...can stop by again whenever you want to..."_

"Maybe I will." They smiled and waved, walking out the door. "It was nice to see you again."

" _You...too..."_

The door shut, leaving Napstablook alone once again. But, strangely enough...he no longer felt lonely. He found that he couldn't stop smiling, and for once, there seemed to be no speck of tears in his eyes.

 _(Thank you...for being my friend.)_


	3. Chapter 3

Today had been an incredibly bizarre day, not that Napstablook minded too much. What with flashes of white light, the barrier being broken, and his cousin Mettaton actually accompanying him...perhaps this day had certainly turned things for the better.

Before Napstablook could wonder what'd make the day even better than it already was, he caught a glimpse of the human heading his way.

Wait—the human actually remembered him? Even after all those days had gone by without a word, they still wished to come back and visit him...?

While the child chatted with Mettaton for quite a bit, Napstablook did nothing but stare at them. He didn't want to look rude, but he couldn't help it. He just still couldn't quite fully understand the meaning of the human's kindness and compassion. Just, why _him,_ exactly? He wasn't popular...nobody ever took notice of him...he practically cried over _everything_...why would anyone want to be his friend?

Napstablook was too caught up in his own thoughts to realize the human had approached him to say hi. The ghost flinched, mouth twitching into a smile as he looked up at them.

 _"...Oh, hi...human...I'll never forget how nice you were to me...even though I was pretending to sleep...and blocked your way...and didn't move right away when you asked me to..."_ He fought against tears, but he knew that there was nothing to cry about. _"...No had ever been so nice about my fake sleep before..."_

The child laughed softly. "Well...if you had moved right away, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to cheer you up. Seeing you happy was worth the wait."

Napstablook peered up at them with big, twinkling eyes as he trembled with pure joy. _"Th...thank you..."_ He paused, trying hard to remember if the human had ever told him their name. _"Uh...this is awkward, but what's...your name? Everyone seems to know it, now, but me...seems like I've been missing out lately...I was just sitting at home listening to tunes...then there was a flash of light outside my window...I saw the snails on the farm disappear..."_

He remembered that part the most, mainly because he cried for 10 minutes straight over the loss of his snails, only to have them reappear just moments later.

" _Then I heard a knock at the door...the flash of light wanted to come in, but I closed the blinds...now everyone knows your name except for me..."_ He felt guilty, as if it was somehow his fault, but the human didn't look like they seemed to mind.

"My name is Frisk," they said with a smile.

Napstablook took a moment to soak it in, nodding slowly. _"Frisk...okay, I won't forget it."_ He smiled, but it slowly disappeared.

"Did you forget?" Mettaton asked.

Napstablook blinked and looked down at his hand, a few tears dropping down onto it. _"I just cried the letters onto my hand so I won't forget,"_ he answered rather proudly.

Frisk opened their mouth to speak, but noticed that Napstablook was now ogling his hand in distress.

" _Oh no...the letters in my hand are joining together...oh no...I'm going to forget your name..."_

"B-Blooky—" Mettaton tried hard not to laugh.

" _Oh no...I'm trying to cry more tears into my hand...oh no...the tears are forming a big pile...oh no...your name's getting really long..."_ Napstablook frantically tried to fix his dilemma, but Mettaton gently took his hand.

"I'll remember it for you," he said with a wink, and Napstablook silently nodded, feeling better. Mettaton turned to face Frisk with a dazzling smile, setting his other hand on their shoulder. "Frisk darling, I greatly appreciate how compassionate you are to my dear cousin...I haven't seen him this happy in a very long time." He gave Frisk a hug. "Thank you."

"It's not a problem at all." Frisk giggled. They stepped back and waved goodbye, but suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Napstablook! I almost forgot—Undyne says hi."

Napstablook seemed surprised. _"Undyne says hi? Then tell her...I say..."_ he pondered on this for a few seconds, _"...something cool."_

Mettaton laughed, and Frisk chuckled. "Sure thing. I'll see you around!" They waved once more, walking out of sight soon afterward.

"I'm so happy for you, Blooky." Mettaton embraced Napstablook tightly. "It makes me happy to see you so happy." Once he pulled away, he saw that Napstablook was crying. "B-Blooky...why are you crying!?"

" _Because...I...I've never had such a...good friend..."_ Napstablook whispered.

Relieved that they were tears of joy and not tears of despair, Mettaton couldn't help but get teary as well as he hugged his cousin again, sharing his content.

* * *

 **That marks the end of my first Undertale fanfic ;)**


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